Jonathan Rhys Meyers cast as Count Dracula in a new US TV series

The British actor - who is best known for roles in 'The Tudors', TV film 'Elvis' and Woody Allen movie 'Match Point' - will star in the new series 'Dracula', which is based on Bram Stoker's iconic Gothic horror novel.

NBC, who are producing the series, said 'Dracula' - set in the Victorian era - will stay true to the story's time period, but with a "look to the future".

Entertainment chairman at NBC, Bob Greenblatt, said: "In the world of 'Twilight' and 'True Blood' and all the contemporised stories, we thought we'd go back to the original."

According to the Hollywood Reporter, it will be set in London in the 1890s, and see Dracula lead a double life as an American businessman interested in bringing modern science to Victorian society.

However, his plan to exact revenge on those who ruined his life centuries earlier is derailed when he falls in love.

The storyline is based on a script by Cole Haddon, and will be co-produced by Gareth Neame, who was behind hit British period drama 'Downton Abbey'.